Welded end truck



Sept. 13, 1932. c HEINLE 1,876,927

WELDED END TRUCK Filed June 6, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet l Sept. 13, 1932. w. c. HEINLE WELDED END TRUCK 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 6, 1929 Patented Sept. 13, 1932 N rr i 'r s WALTER C. HEINLE, OF VILLO'UG'HBY, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE CLEVELAND CRANE &

ENGINEERING COMPANY, OF WICKLIFFE, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO WELDED END TRUCK Application filed June 6, 1929. Serial No. 368,972.

This invention relates to improvements in end trucks for traveling cranes. Trucks of this kind are required to carry the weight of the girders, the driving mechanism, and the load supported by the crane. t sometimes "happens that one of the runway rails is wet or covered with ice. Under such conditions the truck on the slippery runway tends to skid, and this action causes the crane to get out of square withthe runway, imposing a further heavy thrust upon the end trucks.

Heretofore, it'has been the usual practice to construct trucks, intended for use upon cranes subjected to continuous hard service 151 of steel castings. Such castings are large, be-

ing in the neighborhood of 10 feet to '20 feet in length. On account of the flowing of the molten metal it is necessary molds with a series of pouring gates, and to make the cross sections of the castings somewhat larger than would be required. for strength in order to prevent the metal from cooling too rapidly. At best, however, such castings are liable to contain considerable as sand and to have porous spots and cold shuts (that is, places where the metal is too cold to unite). Shrinkage of the .metal upon cooling'sometimes pulls the castings apart in the mold, rendering them worthless, and after cranes with cast end trucks are in service their trucks sometimes tail from one or more of the hidden defects mentioned.

In accordance with the present invention, these end trucks are fabricated of steel plates or bars or other rolled shapes. Such rolled steel parts are free of defects and their weight and strength can be closely figured. A truck for any given job can be constructed of sheet metal, with or without other rolled steel parts, having the same strength as a cast metal truck, with a saving in weight of from 35% to 50%. This lower weight reduces considerably the necessary strength of the runways and their supporting columns, and as the runways are usually several hundred feet long, this saving in material is of prime importance. Furthermore, when cast metal is employed, new patterns must be made for each new size or shape of truck required, whereas end trucks may be fabricated of rolled steel parts withto provide the out any patterns whatever, and these trucks can be fabricated in the time it would take to make patterns, thereby expediting the manufacture. A further advantage lies in the fact that the reduced weight permits quicker starting, stopping, acceleration and deceleration of the crane, thereby speeding up its action. It is an object of the present invention, therefore, to provide end trucks of the character stated which shall be lighter in weight and more dependable and uniform than could be obtained by the use of castings.

Another object is to lower the installation costs of traveling cranes by reduction in the weight of the moving and stationary parts. ,A further object is the provision of a truck or the character specified in which the several parts are integrally united by'welding so that the assembly, as a whole, possesses much greater strength than it could have were the parts secured together by rivets or the like. I

Still another object is to eliminate flanges, angle bar fastening strips, and the like, employing instead continuous welds, by means of whichstrains may be transmitted directly from one plate to another rather than through ofiset parts.

()ther objects and features of novelty will appear as I proceed with the descriptionof that embodiment of the invention which, for the purposes of the present application, I have illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a plan view of an end truck embodying the inve'ntion,'a portion of one of the crane girders being shown assembled to the truck.

Fig. 2 is aside elevation of the truck only. Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing one corner of a crane structure in which the invention is embodied.

Fig. & is a fragmental view of the truck shown partly in perspective and partly in cross section upon the line 4l4c of Fig. 2;

Fig.5 is a side elevational view of a modilied form of the truck.

Figs. '6 and 7 are top and bottom plan views, respectively, of the construction shown in Fig. 5.

, flat Fig. 8 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken substantially on the line 88 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 9 is an end View of the modified form of the truck.

In Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive, the truck body comprises a pair of rolled steel side members 10 which may be substantially identical. These side members are preferably flat plates, as indicated in Fig. 4-, reduced in width throughout the greater portion of their extent, whereby at the ends of the truck there remain upward extensions 11. The lower corners of each of the plates 10 are notched or cut out, as indicated at 12 in Fig. 2. A top plate 13 is mounted upon the side plates 10, extending throughout the main or uniform height portion thereof. A bottom plate 14 joins the lower edges of the side plates, extending preferably throughout the length thereof. While the plates 13 and 14 need not necessarily be continuous, I prefer to make them so.

Each of the side plates 10 is integrally united with both the top and bottom plates 13 and 14; by continuous welds 15, forming a box-like section in which the stresses are transmitted from one member directly to the other rather than through angular flanges or separate intermediate angle bar fastening members, and without the use of rivets or other fastenings which would work loose after hard service. Mt intervals throughout the length of the truck body I may employ internal strengthening members 16, which I term diaphragms. These diaphragms at the ends of the truck are preferably bowed somewhat, as indicated at 16'. They are also joined by means of continuous edge welds with the opposite side members 10, and preferably with the top member as well. The body of the truck is thereby considerably stiffened and strengthened. In one of the side plates 10, at points intermediate the diaphragms 16, I form hand holes 17 for the convenience of the workmen in bolting girders to the truck.

Transversely of th side plates at each end of the truck, and against the edges of the plates formed by the notches 12-, I mount angular forged plates 18 having horizontal and vertical portions. Each of these plates is welded to its side plate throughout the extent 1 of the joint between them, and the plates 18 of each pair, if they extend inwardly beyond the plates 10, are spaced suiiiciently to provide suitable clearance for a truck wheel, indicated at 9. These plates 18 are machined 'on their lower and outer side surfaces to con stitute bearing supports, one of the bearings for each of the truck wheels being indicated in Fig. 2 at 19.

Above the extensions 11 on each end of the truck there is a U-shaped plate 20 resting upon the upper edges of the extensions, the

transverse portion of the plate having an inclined part 21 which abuts at its lower edge the end of the top plate 13. The joint between each of the plates 20 and 13 is con nected by a continuous weld as are also the joints between the plate 20 and the extensions 11 of the side members.

Between the plate 18 and the plate 20 a bracing plate 21 is mounted, being welded throughout its contact with the plates 20, 10 and 18. Plate 21 .helps to transmit the axle load to the side plate 10 and top plate 20. The plate 18 is also braced by triangular bracing plates 22, 23 and 24c which are welded to the plate 18 and to the side plate 10.

At the extreme ends of the truck there are transverse bars or plates 25 engaging the tops of plates 18 and the ends of extensions 11, the central parts of these plates 25 being cut out on their lower sides in order to clear the mounted in the angle between each plate 20 and the adjacent plate 25, being welded to each of them.

On one end of the truck above the two arms of the plate 20 I mount reinforcing plates 27 with upwardly flanged ends, these plates being designed for the reception of bearings, indicated at 28, in which is mounted a shaft comprising part of the trolley of the crane.

particularly at the points where the girders of the crane are to be supported, I employ reinforcing bars 29 on one or both sides of the truck. These bars are preferably welded in s5 truck wheels. Triangular brace plates 26 are At'intervals along the body of the truck, 1'

place along their end edges at least, and may be provided with bolt holes, where necessary, for the attachment of the girders.

In practice, two end trucks, such as T have above described, are mounted to run upon parallel overhead rails. Frequently these rails are separated practically the entire width of the building. Two end trucks running upon these rails are joined near their forward and rear ends by girders, a fragment of such a girder being illustrated at 30 in Fig. 3. These girders carry track rails, a portion of such rail being shown at 31 in Fig. 3. On these latter rails a carriage travels transversely of the main tracks.

The present invention is not concerned with the specific structural details of the girders. However it may be remarked that at their ends these girders are cut away or notched out so as to fit against one side as well as over the top of each end truck, as clearly indicated in Fig. 3. Angle bars attached to the girders are bolted to the side and top members l0 and 13 of each end truck, the bolts at the side extending through the reinforcing plates 29 as well as through the side wall of the truck. In order to brace the parts against forces tending to produce relative movement, it is common to employ a gusset plate 33 which is bolted to the top plate 13 39 which may of the end truck and to an angle bar 34 mounted on the side of the girder, as shown in Fig. 1.

Across the bottom of the end truck near each end thereof I mount a bar 35, whose function it is to support the truck on the rail in the event there is a failure in the corresponding wheel 9 or the bearings therefor. The bars 35 in the normal operation of the crane barely clear the supporting rails, so that the failure of a wheel results in a very small drop of that corner of the crane and a correspondingly small strain upon the va rious parts of the crane.

In the modification illustrated in Figs. 5 to 9, inclusive, the height of the truck is uniform throughout its length. It comprises side members 36, a continuous top member 37, and several spaced bottom members 38. The side members 36 are channels arranged with their flanges extending inwardly. The top member 37 is joined to the channels 36 by welds rupted, and the bottom plates 38 are joined to the channels 36 by similar welds 40. At points throughout the length of the truck where bracing is most essential I employ diaphragms 41, which ide edges only to the channels 36, as illustrated at 42 in Fig. 8. Itis to be understood that the bottom plates 38 are mounted after the welding of the diaphragms 41 has been completed so that the lower side of the truck is entirely open for the diaphragm welding operation.

The lower corners of the truck are notched out in the manner described in connection with the first form of the invention, and for the same purpose. A forged plate 43 is welded to each channel along the horizontal edge of the notch, this plate being carried back into a suitable slot 44 in the channel, and welded preferably throughout its contact with the channel. Along the vertical edge of the notch I weld a forged plate 45 of the same width as the plate 43.

Each of the plates 43 is braced by a pair of suitably shaped bracing plates 46 welded to the plate 43 and to both the web and flange of the channel 36. Each plate 45 is braced by at least one triangular bracing plate 47, welded to the channel 36 and to the plate 45. The exposed surfaces of the plates 43 and 45 are carefully machined to receive the hearing blocks for a truck wheel 48. The plates 43 and 45 extend far enough beyond the outer surfaces of the channels 36 to provide room for a line of welding in the angle between them. These lines of welding are indicated in Fig. 6 at 50 and in Figs. 7 and 8 at 51.

On top of the inner channel 36 of each end truck, near one end thereof, I mount a bearing block 52 carrying the bearings for a shaft 53, which extends transversely between the trucks and may carry means for driving the be either continuous .or .interwheels 48 at one end of the crane. The shaft 53 is usually driven by an electrical motor.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

In a traveling crane, a fabricated end truck, comprising rolled side members having raised end portions, top members and signature.

WALTER C. HEINLE.

are welded along their 

